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MUNCIE, Ind. (AP) - More than 800 acres of prime farm land in Delaware County sold during open bidding on Tuesday for $7.9 million.

John Paugh, CEO of an Anderson trucking company, out-bid a group of five other bidders for the 14 tracts in western Delaware County, 10 of which are contiguous and total 557 acres, and one tract in eastern Madison County.

The price per acre was $9,482.

About 150 people attended the auction at the Horizon Convention Center, but only six were still bidding at the end, The Star Press reported (https://tspne.ws/1qqFV09 ).

Like most in the audience, Charles McCarty, an appraiser with Rabo AgriFinance in Indianapolis, dropped in out of curiosity.

“I’m just here to judge the mood of the market,” McCarty said, “to see if there will be big demand and interest or if people will sit on their hands and watch it not sell.”

There was big demand.

Purdue University’s latest annual farm land value survey found that the highest quality farm land in the state increased 19 percent in value between 2012 and 2013 to $9,177 per acre. Tuesday’s auction topped that figure.

High net farm income combined with favorable interest rates, strong farm land demand and a limited supply of farm land for sale pushed farm land values higher last year. The next farm land value survey won’t be published until August.

After it ended, Paugh quickly walked backstage and didn’t re-appear. He couldn’t be reached for comment by telephone at Carter Logistics or Carter Express, which employ more than 750 people in Madison County in the motor carrier industry.

In December, Paugh was honored as “Entrepreneur of the Year” in Madison County.

Given all of the different uses for corn and soybeans, including ethanol and soy bio-diesel fuel, as well as growing demand for corn from China, McCarty and Schrader called farm land a sound investment, especially if the investor buys it with little or no debt.

“It’s kind of like the rich get richer, and the poor stand on the sidelines and work for him,” McCarty said.

It took Dale and Nina Lee a lifetime to accumulate the farm land that Paugh bought after 1 ½ hours of bidding on Tuesday. The farm also includes a 156,000-bushel grain bin storage and drying facility near Cammack.

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